Belarusians
The Belarusians (Belarusian: беларусы) ( ), sometimes also spelled as Belorussian, Belarussian or even Byelorussians are an East Slavic ethnic group from the country of Belarus. Belarusians have a mixed influence of Russian which makes up most of the Belarusian influence, with lots of Polish influences in western Belarus. Belarus shares a history that is identical to that of European Russia and Ukraine, having been Imperial Russian and later Soviet territory. Etymology, History and Origin The term Belarus and Belarusian ''are rooted from the Russian word ''bela meaning white and rus referring to the Kievan Rus, the ancient ancestors of the Belarusian, Rusyn, Russian and Ukrainian people. The ancient history of Belarus mirrors that of Russia and Ukraine. When Belarus began forming as a atonomous region within the Russian Empire, it was known as Belorussia. Depending on certain translations, it can also appear as Byelorussia or Belarussia. The people inhabiting what is now Belarus are descendants of an ancient ethnic group known as the Slavs. They were referred to as White Russians. The country of Belarus was once part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, known as Ruthenia. During the Medieval Ages the Belarusians were part of a group called the Kievan Rus. The Kievan Rus was a term used for the East Slavic peoples who originated from Kiev. Russian ''was a term used to refer to the Slavs from Kievan Rus. Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians all trace their roots back to this ancient ethnic group. The Kievan Rus eventually collapsed but under Russian rulers, was formed into the Russian Empire perhaps one of history's largest and most powerful. The Russian Empire was an actual country rather than a loosely-administered region like the Kievan Rus. Belarus was known as White Russia, Ukraine was known as Little Russia and Russia itself was known as Great Russia. Belarus existed as an ethnic region in the western part of the Russian Empire. During World War I, the Belarusians fought alongside the Russians since they were part of the Russian Empire. Shortly after demoracy was overthrown from Russia, Belarus followed and became part of the Soviet Union. Belarus was also a founding member of the Soviet Union. Belarus existed as the Belorussian SSR. In World War II, the Belorussian SSR was invaded by Adolf Hitler. The Belorussian Soviets would find themselves struggling as they fought the Nazi Germans in the war. The Belorussians were not successful in halting the Nazi and Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and they lost key cities like Minsk. In 1944-1945, the Soviet Russians eliminated the Nazis out of the Belorussian SSR where the Belorussians and Russians took part in pushing the Nazis back to their homeland. In the Cold War, the Belarusian people suffered ethnic discrimination under the Soviet government. The Russians have even tried to eliminate the Belarusian language. Belarus remained the Belorussian SSR until the Soviet Union's collapse in 1992, in which the country became the Republic of Belarus with Alexander Lukashenko as the president. Even long after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Belarus still remain strong foreign partners. The two countries are co-existing in a manner that is similar to the former Soviet Union. Language Belarusian and Russian are the official languages of Belarus. Belarusian is the first official language, and the national language while Russian is the second official language. Almost all Belarusians are fluent in Russian. They are both East Slavic languages, and Belarusian contains Polish influence; Polish is a Western Slavic language. A bare majority of Belarusians speak the Russian language as a native language. Russian is a world major language that belongs to the East Slavic subfamily of the Slavic languages. Only twenty percent of the Belarusian population fluently speaks and/or even knows how to read Belarusian, in a research done by the Belarusian government. Another research was done, and only one in ten Belarusians understand the Belarusian language. Belarusian is also an official language in Belarus along with Russian. Belarusian also contains Polish influence, since western Belarus has a significant Polish history. The reason why Belarusian is not spoken as a majority language in Belarus is because Belarusians have suffered an ethnic turbulent history under Soviet rule. The Russians had tried to eliminate the Belarusian language. The language was preserved by a minority of the population. Both the Russian and Belarusian languages are written using the Cryllic alphabet. The Cryllic alphabet was introduced by St. Cryil and Methodius, both Greek linguists and saints. The Cryllic language became many Slavic empires' scripts. All of the East Slavic languages are written in the Cryllic alphabet. The Church Slavonic language, is a South Slavic language that is also used in Belarus during churches. Church Slavonic is the liturgical language of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Church Slavonic is also used in other Slavic countries that follow Orthodoxy, like Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Serbia. Religion and Architecture Most Belarusians follow the Eastern Orthodox section of Christianity. Eighty percent of the Belarusian population follow the Russian Orthodox Church. In western Belarus, there are people who are Catholics. This is of Polish influence. Many of the Roman Catholics in Belarus are ethnic Polish and Lithuanians themselves. Fifteen percent of Belarus's population follows Roman Catholicism. There is a Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, with only one percent of the Belarusian population following this section. Protestantism is also a pretty widespread religion in Belarus. Judaism had once been a major religion followed by many Belarusians. Ten percent of Belarus's population were Jews. Due to war, starvation, deportation and a generally turbulent existance, Jews make up less than one percent of Belarus's population. Cuisine Belarusian cuisine bares resemblance to surrounding cuisines, especially Russian cuisine. Pork is one of the most typical ingredients used in Belarusian cooking. Breads and vegetables are also used in this type of cuisine. Belarusian style breakfasts are usually light and consist of wheats. Rye bread is the most common type of bread found in Belarusian cuisine, since wheat is not producable in Belarus. Foods that are of Russian influence include ''okroshka, ''which is a cold soup. ''Pelmeni ''is also of Russian origin, these are Russian style dumplings. But there are traditional Belarusian dumplings called ''kalduni ''which is made with unleavened dough. Other Belarusian soups include ''kapusta ''which is cabbage soup, buraki which is beet soup and ''gyrzhanka ''which is swede soup. ''Draniki ''is a unique food found mostly in Belarus and Ukraine. Draniki is a potato-pancake, made Belarusian and Ukrainian style. ''Vodka ''is a very popular alcoholic beverage in Belarus. Vodka is from Russian influence, and is a distilled alcoholic beverage. ''Kvass is a fermented-beverage popular with Belarusians, made from rye or black bread. Kvass can also be used to make okroshka.